Closing Remarks

My last day with the National Association for Interpretation will be August 7, 2026. As I look back on nearly a quarter century with this organization, I know that the work I will carry with me most proudly is my role with Legacy Magazine. More than anything else, I will remain grateful for the editors, contributors, photographers, and interpreters whose insight, expertise, generosity, and storytelling brought the magazine to life year after year.

On my first day at NAI—February 18, 2002—I sat down at a Power Mac G4 and began sorting through files from the outside contractor who had previously designed the magazine. I was proud to become NAI’s first in-house graphic designer, and one of my first responsibilities was to help bring Legacy onto a reliable publication schedule after it had fallen months behind. By the end of that first year, thanks to the dedication of editor Alan Leftridge and an extraordinary team of associate editors, the magazine was back on time. Through determined work and some aggressive competitive bidding, we also transformed Legacy into a fully full-color publication—a meaningful milestone for a magazine that represented the voice and vision of our profession.

I served as editor of Legacy from 2004 until 2023, and during those years I watched the magazine evolve alongside NAI itself. In its earlier years, Legacy focused largely on practical, tool-building articles that helped interpreters sharpen their craft. Over time, however, it grew into something even more important: a place where our profession wrestled with complex ideas, difficult questions, and the deeper meaning of interpretation.

Themed issues became opportunities not just to share techniques, but to explore the foundations of the profession itself. Early themes centered on places and subjects—Interpreting Nature, Interpreting War, Interpreting the Ocean. Later, our contributors courageously explored themes like “Interpreting Death,” “Interpreting Hate,” and “Interpreting the Invisible.” I remain especially proud of the final five issues of 2022, which focused on Justice, Equity, Diversity, Accessibility, and Inclusion. Those issues reflected an organization that was embracing the truth that interpretation is not simply about sharing information—it is about helping people understand one another, understand the world around them, and ultimately understand themselves.

If Legacy grew during my years as editor, it did so because I had the wisdom to trust brilliant people and give them room to lead. I owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to the many members of Legacy’s editorial board over the years—far too many to name individually—who challenged assumptions, pushed conversations further, asked difficult questions, and continually raised the standard of what the magazine could be. The annual meetings where themes were debated and refined remain some of the most intellectually energizing and inspiring experiences of my career.

I am also profoundly grateful to Elizabeth Meyers. Calling Elizabeth our copy editor barely begins to describe her contributions. Certainly, she saved us from countless typos and more than a few potentially embarrassing mistakes, but she also brought care, precision, consistency, and professionalism to every issue. Her fingerprints are on the quality of this publication in ways readers will never fully know.

For many years, NAI members have described Legacy magazine as one of the most valuable benefits of membership. That has always meant a great deal to me, because Legacy was never simply a magazine. It became a gathering place for ideas, a record of how our profession has grown, and a platform where interpreters from across disciplines and backgrounds could generously share their knowledge and lived experience with one another. Even as rising printing and mailing costs eventually moved the publication into a digital format, its purpose never changed. Legacy continues to strengthen the profession by creating space for reflection, innovation, and dialogue at a time when interpretation has never been more essential.

When I stepped into the role of NAI’s executive director in 2022, one of my greatest regrets was stepping away from the editorship of Legacy and from designing the magazine myself. But that transition became much easier knowing the publication would be entrusted to the incomparably thoughtful Lucien Meadows as editor and to the gifted Emily McCowan as designer. Knowing that this deeply important part of NAI’s professional development mission is in their hands gives me enormous comfort and optimism for the future.

As I say goodbye to NAI, I look back on more than 100 issues of Legacy with the greatest pride. I think about the interpreters who contributed to the magazine—not for recognition, but because they believed in this profession and in one another. Together, we built more than a publication. We built a conversation that has shaped generations of interpreters and strengthened the field in lasting ways.

The work interpreters do matters deeply. In a world that often feels increasingly fragmented and disconnected, interpretation helps people find meaning, connection, empathy, and understanding. Legacy magazine has helped advance that mission issue after issue, year after year, and I have been extraordinarily fortunate to be part of it.

Thank you for all that you do. It has been the honor of a lifetime.